March, 26 2019, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Thanu Yakupitiyage, U.S. Communications Manager, thanu@350action.org; 413-687-5160
350.org on Senate Majority Leader McConnell's Sham Vote on Green New Deal
WASHINGTON
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is expected to call for a vote on the Green New Deal today, a move widely perceived as a political trick designed to drive a wedge between Democrats.
May Boeve, executive director of 350 Action, made the following statement:
"Oil Money Mitch McConnell is calling for a sham vote on a resolution that he has no intention of passing. McConnell, who takes millions of dollars from the fossil fuel lobby, thinks that by calling for an early vote, he can kill the public and political momentum to make the Green New Deal a reality in 2021. But we see his intentions clearly and call on Democrats to stand united against these slimy maneuvers that put partisan bickering ahead of real solutions to the climate crisis.
"While McConnell wastes the American public's time with this political theater, millions of people across the Midwest are being impacted by yet another climate disaster: the devastating floods that have destroyed homes, farms and crops, leaving thousands stranded without access to clean water and food, and costing the public billions. If Republicans really cared, they would set aside this nonsense vote to actually help their constituents who are facing the real impacts of the climate crisis now.
"The Green New Deal requires more than just a yes or no vote at this stage; it requires elected leaders to step up and support strengthening resolutions that are on the table. With concern about climate change in the U.S. at the highest it's ever been, the American public deserve concrete action toward climate justice, as well as real solutions like the potential for massive job creation through a fast and just transition to 100% renewables."
350 Action is the independent political action arm of the non-profit, non-partisan climate justice group 350.org.
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U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that he is commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 Americans and pardoning 39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes, a move the White House described as "the largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history."
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According to a White House fact sheet, those who received commutations "have been serving their sentences at home for at least one year under the Covid-era CARES Act," a law that extended the amount of time in which people could be placed in home confinement to reduce the spread of the virus in prisons.
The White House did not name those who received pardons or commutations but said the list includes a "decorated military veteran," a "nurse who has led emergency response for several natural disasters," and "an addiction counselor who volunteers his time to help young people find their purpose."
The Biden Justice Department paused federal executions in 2021, but President-elect Donald Trump pledged on the campaign trail to expand the use of the death penalty and is expected to allow the executions of the 40 men on death row to take place if they're still there when he takes office next month.
In a statement on Thursday, Biden said that he has "the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses."
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Biden, who campaigned on ending the death penalty at the federal level, vowed to "take more steps in the weeks ahead" as his administration reviews clemency petitions, leaving open the possibility of commutations for death row prisoners.
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